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FETAL DOPPLER FAQs

Fetal FAQS

A fetal doppler is a small portable device that is used to detect and monitor baby’s heartbeat. The doppler does this by using ultrasound technology which sends sound waves into your abdomen and then interprets the way these sound waves bounce back for information about the fetal heartbeat. The fetal dopplers used by Sweet Beats are medical grade devices which are high sensitivity and accurate.

Dopplers have been around for many decades, and no adverse effects have ever been reported from their use. The Australian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine confirms that doppler use is safe. However, it’s recommended that you don’t use the Doppler for a prolonged amount of time, but just now and then. Some women make a certain time to use their Doppler with their partner, like a Friday evening, whilst others just use the doppler as needed for peace of mind.

Be sure to get your doppler from a trusted source so that you know it is in compliance with safety regulations and that you can get help if needed.

Although doppler usage is safe in itself, it’s important to remember that not finding the baby’s heartbeat can be frustrating, and create anxiety in some women. If you can’t find the baby’s heartbeat straightaway, please remember that you aren’t a professional – and you may well be using the Doppler incorrectly! Ask us for help.

Please remember that you must not rely on the Doppler as an assurance that your baby is okay. This is mainly directed at those women in late pregnancy – if you are concerned about anything, such as a lack of movement or change in pattern of movements, please contact your caregiver. A glass of cordial or iced water often works well to get a baby moving.

You will! It can take a bit of time to get the hang of using a doppler, and certainly it’s not surprising if it takes some time to find the heartbeat the first time if you are early on in pregnancy. However, by following our tips and with a bit of patience the first time you should be fine – just ask for help if necessary. We recommend becoming familiar with the process on your own heart if you’re struggling. The main thing is not to move the probe around, just change its angle, and wait until you can hear the heartbeat clearly.

Your baby’s heartbeat will have a very distinctive sound, like galloping hooves, and will be about twice your own heartbeat rate. You may hear other sounds, such as the placental bloodflow (which has a whooshing in trees sound) or your own arterial flow. We have recordings of the different sounds you may hear which we can email you if you’d like – just ask us.

The manufacturer advises that the heartbeat may be heard from 10 weeks. We’ve actually had several customers hear the heartbeat earlier than that…. but it certainly shouldn’t be relied on. We’ve also spoken to women who are 15 weeks and found it time-consuming finding the heartbeat. You might hear the heartbeat earlier than 10 weeks, but certainly, don’t order a Doppler on that basis. It can be difficult for a trained professional to find the heartbeat depending on the shape of the woman and size and position of the baby, so it’s a hard one to answer. For some women it’s as easy as point the probe and hear the baby, for others it’s a frustrating process before they get anywhere. Tips on finding the heartbeat are provided, and we’ll help if you get stuck.

You can, but you may be disappointed with the results. We believe that this isn’t the time to compromise on quality or reliability – we don’t sell cheap Dopplers or ‘fetal listeners’ which don’t use ultrasound technology because we don’t want disappointed customers. We do provide you with a high quality Fetal Doppler at a great price for hire or buy. Our Dopplers are medical grade, and have Australian and world-wide compliance with quality assurance and safety regulations. We’re thrilled to provide you with our great prices, and if it’s out of range for you to buy, then you can simply hire a medical grade Doppler from us, for a low monthly fee.

Just about everyone who orders a doppler is anxious to receive it as quickly as possible. For that reason, we offer express delivery on all our doppler orders, either by Australia Post or secure courier. So long as you order before 2pm AEST (or AEDT in the summer months) on a business day, your Doppler will arrive the next business day.

It’s very rare for us to have an unhappy customer! But for peace of mind, we offer a 7 day money back guarantee on all our doppler hires and purchases. If you aren’t happy, send your doppler back (in all its original packaging) and we’ll refund your money. Postage costs are not refundable.

When you are ready to return your doppler, simply download a prepaid postal label from your ‘My Account’ page. Scroll down to your ‘Recent Orders’ and click on the ‘Return’ link.Stick this label to the front of the blank white satchel that arrived with your doppler and hand in over the counter at your Australia Post retail outlet. As soon as you have lodged your parcel at Australia Post, our automatic tracking system will let us know and we will mark your hire complete.

I hired a dopper from you but now I’d like to buy. Can my hire fees come off the purchase price?

Important Note – please return your doppler by handing it over the counter at Australia Post.If it is placed in a street-side post box we won’t receive any notification of lodgement and won’t be able to track return, so you will continue to be billed until the doppler is received and returned into stock.

Easy fix! If you don’t have a printer, simply send us an email to support@sweetbeats.com.au advising you’d like to return your doppler but don’t have a printer. We will then send you further instructions for returning your doppler.

I hired a dopper from you but now I’d like to buy. Can my hire fees come off the purchase price?

Yes of course! We’re pleased you like the doppler! We’ll invoice you for the remaining purchase price, less any hire fees paid.